This delicious warm Plum Sangria recipe is perfect for fall. It’s fruity, with a touch of seasonal spices, and it’s just the thing to warm you up when you’re looking for a cozy night in. This red wine sangria has vanilla and clove plus apple-cranberry juice to make a delicious drink to share with friends.

how to make warm sangria for fall — Let’s make this easy warm Plum Sangria recipe.

Why you’ll love this warm red wine sangria

A warm red wine sangria recipe makes so much sense for the colder months. It’s easy to make and has flavors that we all love at this time of year. Plus any time you sip something warm it feels so cozy.

Plum is one of my favorite stone fruits to infuse wine any time of year. It’s a versatile flavor that goes well with rich berry notes usually found in red wine.

Related: Mulled Spiced Cider

Spices like vanilla and cloves add another great layer of flavor. And using store-bought apple-cranberry juice makes it delicious and perfect for a crowd.

You’re going to love serving this Plum Sangria at all your fall parties. It’s one of my favorite sangria recipes.

A party table with text next to it to get email sign ups for a Thanksgiving Planner.

Ingredients

whole cloves
vanilla bean
apple-cranberry juice
purple, red, black or green plums
1 bottle red wine

Any kind of red wine will work for this. I like a flavorful Cabernet Sauvignon but the bottle used here is a red blend and it was delicious.

I would choose a bottle you would drink on its own. In lots of wine cocktails, you can use a lower quality brand, if using mixers, since you won’t be able to taste it as much. But in a tasty fall sangria, the wine flavor will shine through so it should be a yummy one.

Plums definitely have a season so substitute them for whatever seasonal fruits you like. I could even see using pear.

How to Make Warm Red Sangria

Like with most sangria, you will need to plan ahead to give the spices time to marry with the juice (from 4-24 hours).

Vanilla and cloves in cheesecloth to infused a warm red sangria.

Step 1

Place cloves and vanilla bean in the center of a double-thick 6-inch square of 100% cotton cheesecloth.

Bring the corners of the cloth together; tie them closed with clean kitchen string.

The spice bundle is where it’s at. This is how all those amazing fall flavors get into your drink. You can find cheesecloth at Target or your grocery store but I buy it on Amazon.

Let’s talk for a minute about how amazing a fresh vanilla bean smells. You will want to rub it all over your body like perfume.

And mix that with fresh cloves…I mean… Does it get any more fall up in your kitchen?

A bottle of Ocean Spray apple cranberry juice on a table with a spice bundle next to it.

Step 2

Instead of finding a really large pitcher to transfer the juice into, I poured a little juice out to make room for the spice pouch and the plums. That really is the only option for a lazy person like me.

And don’t even get me started about pitcher sizes and how they go from small to OH MY GOSH HOW AM I GOING TO FIT THIS IN MY FRIDGE large with nothing in between…

I love using fruit juice to pack this plum sangria recipe with as much flavor as possible. It also keeps prep time to a minimum since you only have to make a quick spice bundle and slice up a few plums.

Step 3

Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours.

warm fall sangria with red wine in a pitcher

Step 4

Remove and discard the cheesecloth bag.

Step 5

To a 4-quart Dutch oven, add the spiced juice mixture (with the plums) and the red wine. Mix gently then heat until hot. Don’t bring it to a boil.

This recipe makes 10-12 servings.

To Serve

Serve the warm plum sangria in heatproof mugs. I never get to use these cute glass mugs. Maybe this sangria is just the excuse I needed.

This double-walled pitcher would be perfect for serving this warm sangria at a party. Or you can use a regular old glass pitcher like I did.

This Warm Fall Sangria with plums is amazing. The vanilla and cloves really round out the sangria with their subtle notes and made it feel very comforting. I love the idea of serving this at a party but I will also sip this in my pajamas, cozied up on my couch.

It was really easy to make and smells delightful while heating. Seriously, the perfect autumn sangria!

Warm plum sangria in a glass with plums on a table.

Variations

The best part is this red sangria recipe for fall can also be served over ice. And that was delicious too! Simply follow the recipe above and instead of heating the wine and juice together, just mix the wine and juice together before serving over ice.

Word on the street is that you can use the above recipe with white wine as well. I haven’t tried that but I imagine it would also be quite delicious.

More sangria recipes